Btranquilo

I believe I understand correctly that a Lawful Permanent Resident who has been living in the US for more than five years and is eligible to receive SNAP (food stamps) benefits can now receive those benefits without the worry of having receipt of food stamps be an impediment to the approval of their application for Naturalization. Also, this individual also has a ten year old daughter who entered the US on a visa last month. I am the financial sponsor with an Affidavit of Support for both of them. 

My question is: "If the mother begins receiving Food Stamps for herself and her daughter am I, as the financial sponsor who signed the Affidavit of Support for both of them, potentially liable to have to repay the government for those food stamp benefits? Not sure it is relevant in which state the mother will be receiving food stamps; the mother and daughter are currently living in CA but are likely to move to Oregon. Thanks in advance for assistance on this topic.    

I agree with several others that it is good that you feel free to openly ask the questions you are asking on this board. A couple of things that I would add; the amount needed to earn per quarter in 2021 is $1,470 or $5,880 per year. If you have not done so already, I strongly suggest you talk with her about a pre-nup. I assume you want to have a prenup so I suggest you talk with her about that ASAP. If she expresses doubt about a prenup then, IMO, that would definitely be a red flag. 

Since financial factors are important, I suggest you also ask her if she intends to and wants to work. What type of work is she suited for? How is her English? Do you live in a rural community where jobs for an immigrant who does not speak good English might be difficult to get? Do you want her work? 

Both your conversation about the prenup and about her wanting and ability to work will be useful in knowing more about what to expect and for you to continue to make your decision about the relationship. At the same time, she can also be making a decision about you.

Not to be cynical about all of this nor to make stereotypical judgements; however if you met her through some type of match company that focuses on US men meeting Ukrainian women it may very well be that she has been corresponding with other American men. If so, she would not be the first to have some level of relationship with more than one American man. 

Now I will be a bit cynical and say this: If she speaks fairly good English and has a track record of working in Ukraine and has job skills to be able to fairly easily find work in the US AND if you have a good tight prenup then your financial risks are really fairly minimal in my opinion. Worst case scenario - you get married but after a few years one or both of you want a divorce; if you have a well done prenup the expenses to you are not all that great in the divorce; if she has been working in a stable job she has been building up those SS quarters and if she has a decent job she is not eligible for most "public charge" federal benefits (such as food stamps, Section 8 housing assistance, etc.) anyway so your financial sponsorship is not an issue.

I hope my input is helpful in makin your decision. Having said all that, I wish you the best.    

Well, I did not receive any answers to this question. So, in the interest of information, I will share the information I received today from Nicaragua. 

I am the sponsor of an application for a child in Nicaragua of a lawful permanent resident. The application was submitted just after the June, 2020 order by President Trump blocking the issuance of visas for children in this category. The mother and I are hopeful that the embassy in Managua will begin the processing of those visa applications. Does anyone know the situation at the Managua embassy related to this? Thanks in advance 

I have a question about how to fix an error on an online n-400 application. I am the preparer and assisted the applicant with the application and we submitted it online just 5 days ago. In reviewing the application I noticed that I inadvertently recommended the applicant  check the wrong box on Part 13 page 16 (Applicant's Statement, Certification and Signature).  The box she checked was 1. A. "Applicants statement regarding the interpreter" I can read and understand English..... That was a mistake on my part as she did not use an interpreter.

The second mistake on the same page was below on 2. "Applicant's Statement Regarding the Preparer" which I did not catch and she did not check "At my request, the preparer named in Part 15., (space for name of preparer).

However, I did correctly complete Part 15 naming myself as the preparer with full contact information. 

I think the only mistakes made on the application were on this one page 16.

However, now I find also myself asking if I did correctly assist the applicant on Part 13, page 17 (Applicant's Signature) by typing in the applicant's name on the form (as opposed to an actual hand written signature). As I recall I followed the instructions on that.

So, my question is how to go about making the correction on Part 13, page 16? Can I send a message to USCIS via the online submission login requesting assistance with that?

Also, did I correctly understand that the online application signature section on page 17 is electronic and a printed signature acceptable?

I may be worrying about things that are not critical however I want to avoid any mistakes and make any corrections as early as possible. Thanks for any assistance anyone can provide on this,  

Yes, this is what we should, and will do. We also received essentially the same advice locally. This will delay the submission of the application however absolutely best to do everything right. Thanks for the quick review and advice.

Working on the N-400 for my wife. Over the years she has done a combination of work, some that she received W-2's, paid income tax, etc. and some in what I think of as the "Informal Economy" - such as cleaning houses and offices, work in which she did not receive W2's nor pay any taxes on. She has no documentation for this informal work. In some cases this work was sporadic and in other cases that was really the only work she did for a few months at a time. Over the years covered for the required reporting I estimate it is probably about 50% "formal work with W2's" and 50% informal. My question is how to report this in Part 8 on the n-400 form, such as "Self Employment" or not to even report it at all? Obviously I know how to report the work for which she received W2's.C

I appreciate any advice on this. 

Thanks for this response. Sorry for the errors on my reply. I am not a professional on this; you are correct, of course, on all of this. Later this year the petitioner will have been living in the US for five years and is aware that they may begin the process for naturalization. Right now the individual does not seem all that confident of being able to pass the test on questions or the conversational English requirement (if I have those listed correctly). I am encouraging the petitioner to get serious in studying the questions and answers as well as improving their conversational English (and I have provided the bilingual study materials for this individual).  

Again, thanks to each of you who have replied - all of your responses are helpful and I will pass the substance of them to the petitioner! Stay safe, healthy and strong everyone!

18 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

The current ban does not allow issuing immigration visas to F2a beneficiaries until 2021.  There are no exceptions.

The petitioner received her green card in late 2018, so how did she file for her child in 2016?  That doesn't make sense.  

Thanks for the response. I was attempting to keep the question short and so I did not provide all the information, sorry about that The petitioner entered the US in 2015 as the spouse of a US citizen and subsequently the petitioner was divorced from the US citizen in 2017. So during that initial two year period and a subsequent 14 month extension the petitioner had  two year temporary green card. In late 2018 the petitioner received permanent legal residency (green card) status. 

In any event, my question seems to be answered that the beneficiary is not eligible for entry into the US during the current time period through Dec. 31, 2020 (and this suspension may be extended).

So, now I have a corollary question. Can the review process of the AOS forms, an interview, medical exam, etc. take place during this "suspension" time period so that, potentially, the visa could be approved post 12/31/20 assuming the suspension was lifted? 

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I am the joint sponsor for the visa petition for a nine year old child of a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), the I-130 for this child was approved in February, 2016 however the petitioner chose (for various reasons) to delay moving forward with the visa process at that time, in late 2018 the mother (petitioner) received her Permanent Lawful Resident / green card status. This year the petitioner has decided it is important for her daughter to be with her in the US and has determined to proceed with the final steps in the visa process. The Petitioner is an unmarried LPR. I have paid the two required fees (Immigrant and AOS) and have received a receipt. The petitioner and I have recently submitted the AOS forms I-864. 

I am confused as to whether the June 22 Proclamation of Trump "suspends the immigration" of the beneficiary in this case or if there is an exemption for minor unmarried children of LPR's. Also, it may not be relevant however the beneficiary is a citizen of Nicaragua. Also, I am confident that the petitioner has not received any "public charge" benefits which might affect the visa petition. 

So, my question is whether this child beneficiary of this visa process as outlined above is not eligible for immigration at the present time (currently through the proclamation time of December, 2020 which can be extended) or is exempt from that proclamation. I apologize in advance if this question has already been asked and addressed on this forum. 

I am wondering if a green card holder is eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit and if so, is the Earned Income Tax Credit covered as a restriction related to "means tested public benefits" and the Affidavit of Support I-134? 

Well, no one has replied to any of the questions I asked above; however I have researched a lot both on this site and on other sites about these questions and here is my understanding at this point:

 -As the ex-spouse, my information is required on the I-751 my ex spouse is filing (as divorced) on part 4; since she is filing as Divorced then I do not sign in Part 8.

-I only read of a couple of questions relating to an ex-spouse serving as Interpreter for the petitioner; and the two opinions seemed to indicate that there are no reasons that an ex-spouse cannot serve as the interpreter for the petitioner. That then does require that I sign Part 9, as interpreter. I still do not see a problem in doing this; so I am planning on serving as the interpreter at the request of my ex-spouse.

Any opinions from anyone one way or the other on this?

- I have determined that I will not  prepare the petition for the petitioner; so the question of being listed as the preparer is no longer relevant in my situation; however it is still interesting to me as a question that might be relevant to someone's situation in the future. Any thoughts on this from anyone?

My ex-spouse has not yet filed the I-751 petition but plans to do so in the coming weeks (well ahead of the deadline) - so if anyone has any opinions or experiences on these issues I would appreciate seeing them.

Thanks in advance,

Btranquilo

My ex-spouse is in the process of beginning to complete and file I-751 petition to remove conditions on residence. Our marriage was entered in good faith, we lived together for several months, then separated and are now divorced. While we are divorced we are friends and are in communication with each other. She has requested my assistance in completing the I-751 petition; I have reviewed the petition and instructions and have some questions. My ex-spouse, the petitioner, is filing (Part 3, 1.d. "married in good faith, marriage terminated through divorce). I believe she can provide substantial documentation that the marriage was entered into in good faith.

My questions:

1.Page 2, Part 4 - Do I assume correctly that, as the US citizen (now) ex-spouse of the petitioner, my information is required on Page 2, Part 4?

2. Page 6, 1.b. - English is my first language and I am fluent in Spanish (the first language of the petitioner), is there any problem with me serving as the interpreter for my ex-spouse (whose English is fair but not fluent) in this petition?

3. Page 6, 2. Is there any problem with me also assisting my ex-spouse, the petitioner, in preparing the petition? Note that I am not an attorney.

4. Page 7, Part 8. As the ex-spouse, I am the individual listed in Part 4 which is referenced in Part 8; this section is confusing to me as it includes the words in parentheses "(if applicable). It does not seem appropriate for an ex-spouse to complete Part 8. however I cannot find any definition or reference in the I-751 itself or in the accompanying instructions to "if applicable". Am I correct in assuming that an ex-spouse would not complete Part 8 and is neither required nor is it applicable for the ex-spouse to sign the petition?

5. Is the fact that I provide some financial assistance to my ex-spouse (there are no children involved) and will continue to do so for a limited time at all relevant to the petition or appropriate as documentation of good faith of the marriage?

6. I cannot think of any conflict of interest that I, as ex-spouse, have in providing assistance to the petitioner. I can be of assistance in providing documentation of our marriage, shared property and finances, vacations and photos together, etc. However, I do not wish to harm her chances in receiving approval of the petition in any way. I have always felt that just because a couple obtain a divorce, it does not mean they have to be enemies, not cooperate with each other, etc. Are there any knowledgeable opinions about providing assistance to my ex-spouse as outlined above. I have emphasized to her the need to be totally honest in the petition.

Thanks in advance for any assistance with these questions and advice.  

My wife and I are confused regarding the next steps in the NVC visa application for her daughter who is 5 years old and does not currently have a passport. Her daughter was born in Costa Rica and my wife is Nicaraguan. A year and a half ago my wife moved back to Nicaragua (from Costa Rica) with her daughter; the daughter has been living in Nicaragua since January, 2015 and has legal residency status in Nicaragua. My wife has been living here in the US since September, 2015.

We understand that we need to obtain a passport for the daughter in order to complete the application process for her visa to live with us in the United States. Our question is should we obtain a Costa Rican or Nicaraguan passport for her daughter and does it make any difference with the US government if she has either a Costa Rican or Nicaraguan passport?

Also, can anyone provide any advice on obtaining a first passport for a child of five years who is living in Nicaragua; it seems the process should be straightforward however we cannot get a clear answer on the process from the Nicaragua embassy in Miami, Florida and trying to obtain information from the Costa Rica department of Immigration which issues passports is impossible.

We would like to avoid the expense of a trip back to Costa Rica and / or Nicaragua for my wife for the sole purpose of obtaining a passport for her daughter. (We will be happy to go back to Nicaragua and bring the daughter back with us once she has the US visa of course).

I cannot proceed further with the NVC application process for the visa without submission of a valid passport for the daughter. Any advice or user experience would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

Thank you Bzegurl for the information; if the difference is only a couple of months and since we started my spouse being the petitioner it seems simpler to proceed with the petition we have that is already approved. Thanks again!

Thank you so much for the clarification and information on this. And thanks for pointing out that I am confusing adjustment of status with "Removal of Conditions."

What is the meaning of the "important note" in the NVC letter: "If the applicant intends to adjust with USCIS, please contact the NVC before taking any further action or making any payments". What does it mean to "...intends to adjust with USCIS..." and why is that note included in the agent registration letter? At this point I have no idea if "the applicant" (my stepdaughter) "intends to adjust with USCIS".

And thanks again for pointing out what may have been a mistake in my spouse being the petitioner for her daughter instead of me. Since my spouse received a I-797, Notice of Action, "Approval Notice" with a priority date of October 5, 2015 does the 1.5 year wait for a visa number begin from last October 5, 2015 in which case 7 months have already passed? Or would the 1.5 year wait begin at some future point?

And, if we decided that it is best for me to file the petition for my stepdaughter how would we change what is already done?

While recognizing that I only have myself to blame for what might be a delay in my stepdaughter's receipt of a visa, I do recall my spouse and I going to the local USCIS office last September and being told that either I or my spouse could be the petitioner for our daughter; I do not recall the USCIS employee informing us about the big difference in waiting time. But I kick myself for not doing my homework filing to assisting my spouse in completing the I-130 petition.

Thanks again "newacct" for your assistance and information!

William

VJ has been so incredibly helpful to me in answering my questions. Now I have another one.

My foreign spouse entered the US on a CR1 visa on September 3, 2015. She petitioned for her five year old daughter who is living in Nicaragua to receive a visa in late September, 2015 and she received the I-797 Approval of Action notice on February 1, 2016. She then received the "NVC Welcome Letter" that includes the NVC Case Number and Invoice ID Number on May 11, 2016. She has followed up on the NVC letter by choosing me, her spouse, as an agent. Today (May 27,2016) we received the letter of registration of me as her agent. In reviewing today's letter from NVC the following sentence caught my attention:

"If the applicant intends to adjust with USCIS, please contact the NVC before taking any further action or making any payments".

It occurs to me that we have been so focused on obtaining a visa for my spouses five year old daughter that I did not think about any process for adjustment of status, etc. My spouse and I realize that my spouse must apply for adjustment of status prior to 90 days of Sept 3, 2017 (the two year period after her entry into the US.). I don't know what the best way is for our daughter to obtain permanent residency.

So my questions are: What will the status of our daughter (her biological daughter, my stepdaughter) be once she has received her visa and entered the US?

and

What is the process by which she obtains permanent resident status?

It occurs to me that these may be very basic (and stupid) questions and I should already know the answers. However, I have found in life that it is good to ask these type of questions when I am unsure of a process or facts.

So, thanks in advance to someone for any information and answer to this.

William

Thanks for the quick response to my question. The decision not to bring her daughter to the US at the same time she came was my wife's decision; she had never been to the US, spoke virtually no English and wanted to live in the US for awhile and get acclimated and learn more English before her daughter lives here. Also, her daughter has a good living situation with family in Nicaragua, I pay for her to go to a good quality child care center, etc.

As to why my spouse is the petitioner and not me; possibly my bad decision as I did not realize there was a big difference in which one of us is the petitioner. My wife wanted her daughter to come here after one / one a half years approximately and it appears as though that can happen unless something unforeseen transpires in the process.

Thanks again for the information,

William

Thank you for the prompt response. After I posted the question I realized I had omitted one piece of information that may be relevant. My spouse has her temporary green card and we understand she will need to file for adjustment of status to receive her permanent green card no later than 90 days prior to September 3, 2017. As it relates to obtaining a visa for her daughter via the I-130 application she filed does it make any difference that she is still in her two year green card status?

Thanks in advance for any advice / answer to this question.

William

My foreign spouse entered the US on a CR1 visa on September 3, 2015. She petitioned for her five year old daughter who is living in Nicaragua to receive a visa in late September, 2015 and she received the I-797 Approval of Action notice on February 1, 2016. She then received the "NVC Welcome Letter" that includes the NVC Case Number and Invoice ID Number on May 11, 2016.

She has followed up on the NVC letter by choosing me, her spouse, as an agent. On May 20 we received the automated response from NVC confirming the agent form with the indication that it will take two weeks to process and, after that, we can continue the process to pay the fees and submit the visa application form. So far, so good.

Anticipating the requirement for the Affidavit of Support (AOS), Form USCIS I-864 requirement. Here are my questions:

1. My spouse is the petitioner and I read the instructions for the I-864 that she must file the I-864 as the petitioner for her daughter. My spouse works part-time and is a student and her income alone will not be sufficient to meet the 125% of poverty level for two persons (herself and her daughter). We filed "Married Filing Jointly" federal income tax returns for 2014 and 2015. Our combined income and / or my portion of our combined income is sufficient to meet the 125% of poverty guideline for a household of three (me, my spouse and her daughter).

Question: Does my spouse file one I-864 as the sponsor and do I file a separate I-864 as the joint sponsor? Or, is there a way to file one I-864 as the two parents of the daughter now that I am the stepfather of her daughter? Or, does my spouse file one I-864 with the 2015 IRS tax return transcript since our combined income exceeds the minimum 125% of poverty?

Question: If both my spouse and I file separate I-864 support forms are they filed jointly in the same envelope and process? Would we both file a copy of the IRS Tax Return Transcript as documentation for the financial statement?

Somehow it seems awkward and a bit strange to file two separate I-864 support forms if we are married and filed income taxes as Married Filing Jointly.

And, a related question, am I now legally regarded as the Stepfather of her daughter even though her daughter has never lived in the US?

If these questions have already been answered in Visa Journey I apologize for not seeing them. Thanks in advance,

William

My wife arrived in the US without a problem with a CR1 visa on Sept 4, 2015. We are also waiting on her green card; we went to the local USCIS office this morning where a worked checked online and quickly saw that the card was "in processing" as of November 4, 2015 and the worker suggested allowing another 30 days from today to receive it (that would make it about December 24, 2015. The worker also told us that we could check the status of the processing of the green card online at the USCIS website. I went to the website today and could not find a place on the website to check on the status of a green card in process. Does anyone have a link to that specific site? Thanks in advance.

Thanks to all of you who replied on this; the information was very reassuring!

Can the spouse of a beneficiary who received a visa pay the $165 fee using the USCIS ELIS website and process? My wife does not have a credit card or US bank account and I know the very precise and difficult directions on setting up an account and paying the fee will be virtually impossible for her to complete. As I have a copy of her visa with the case number and registration number it will be easy for me to pay the fee online. However, the wording on the USCIS ELIS website seems to indicate that the visa holder has to pay this and that a representative cannot pay it for them. However, in another place on the website the language seems to indicate that a family member can pay the fee for a member of the family that is the visa holder. Obviously as the spouse I am a family member of the visa holder. It seems logical that I can pay this fee on behalf of my spouse but I would like to be sure. Thanks in advance for your experience or advice on this.

_{Thanks for the reply and number one I should have filed for an extension as you indicate. Number two we did file "Married filing Jointly" back in April of this year. And, finally, I will take your advice and simply wait until my wife receives her SS card and then re-submit the original 1040 with the only change being that I can then enter her SS number.}

My foreign spouse filed a W-7 ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) application that was submitted to IRS in April, 2015 and accompanied our 1040 Federal Tax Return. Our 1040 filing of the federal and state income taxes for 2014 was as "Married Filing Jointly". The W-7 ITIN application has been rejected by IRS with a request to send it again with the original passport of my wife. Understandably, my wife does not want to send me her original Nicaragua passport for me to then forward to IRS Austin office.

Because the ITIN W-7 application has not been processed the Austin IRS office says that the 1040 for 2014 (filed on 4/15/2015) cannot be processed until the W-7 application has been resolved. Obviously the filing status of "Married filing Jointly" changes the amount of taxes owed, any refund amount, etc.

Subsequent to the filing of the 1040 tax return along with the W-7 ITIN application my wife received her visa and is now planning to enter the US (for the first time) in early September of this year.

When I called the IRS ITIN in Austin, TX this morning I asked if it was possible for my wife to withdraw or cancel the W-7 ITIN application and then I would file an amended 1040X tax return with "Married Filing Separately" status. The individual I was talking to at the Austin IRS ITIN office said she could not advise me on the ITIN application since I was not the applicant (my wife is). She also said she could not advise me about filing an amended 1040X return and changing the status to "Married filing Separately" and I should consult the appropriate IRS policies for possible amended tax returns. My idea was after my wife receives her social security card that I would then file a second amended 1040X for 2014 reverting to the "Married Filing Jointly" status

So, based on the above, my questions are:

1. Should I simply do nothing for the time being and wait until my wife arrives and receives her SS number and then submit a new 1040 tax return for 2014?

2. Can a W-7 ITIN application that has been rejected by IRS be withdrawn or cancelled? If yes, is there a correct way to do this?

3. Since my original 1040 Federal Income tax form filed on 4/15/2015 is in limbo should I proceed to now file an amended 1040X and close the file on the 2014 federal taxes. Can I simply proceed to file an amended 1040X federal tax return for 2014 and change the filing status to "Married filing Separately"? and, if so, should I sent the amended 1040X form to the Austin IRS ITIN office or to the regional office of IRS indicated for amended returns?

Wow, thanks for anyone who feels that they can give me some advice based on their experience or expertise. I have called some private IRS acceptance agents but have not talked to anyone yet who feels they can advise me on this.